As I lay there a while longer, suddenly, a loud bang comes from somewhere in the house. “Time for this party to come to an end.”
I sit up, throwing my legs over the edge and when I look to the door, a white piece of paper slides out from underneath it. I walk over to pick it up and
when I open it, I let out a chuckle.
‘Push me away all you want, but I’m not going anywhere, so deal with it.’
I quickly open the door just as Velyn’s about to turn and walk away. I grab her by the arm, pulling her into the room. Shutting the door behind us, I then lean her up against it.
“You're stubborn,” I let out, my body moving in close to hers but not touching.
Her chin juts out. “I like persistent better.”
“You don’t listen, and that could get you in trouble, Velyn.”
She straightens herself, bringing her face closer to mine; so close that I can feel her warm breath. “Oh, I listen. I just choose to ignore the obdurate nonsense that comes out of your mouth.”
I look between her eyes, trying to get the slightest read on her. Something changed in the few moments from out on the patio to in here.
She’s become unshakeable.
I push off the door, not removing my eyes from hers until I turn to head over to the other side of the room.
“I don’t want this,” I state clearly.
“Bullshit—actually, no, not bullshit.” She moves toward me. “You want this, and you know you want this. You, Dylan, just don’t like the uncertainty it comes with. You hate that someone else can take something away that may end with you getting your little feelings hurt.”
Snark—I haven’t seen this side of her since before we got together.
“Wow, pulling out the big guns. Does sweet little Velyn think a verbal lashing is really going to change how I feel? Sweetheart, I don’t want you in my life; it’s that simple. No feelings are getting hurt here because honestly, there aren’t any to get hurt.”
Velyn’s eyes blaze with fury. Her arms come up, and with all her force, she pushes on my chest.
“You.” She pushes again. “Are.” and again. “An asshole.” That last push has me hitting the edge of the bed and falling onto it. She doesn’t waste a second. She jumps on top, straddling me with her legs.
I let out a laugh. “Babe, if you wanted to get me in bed, all you had to do was ask. I’m definitely down for a no-strings hook-up with a sweet piece of ass.”
She freezes.
“What, Velyn, not what you’re about? Well, it’s what I need. I just want someone to take care of my needs but knows when her job’s done.”
She remains frozen, still on top of me and her eyes are locked with mine. I don’t say anything more, and neither does she. A few more moments pass then she rolls to the side and onto her feet looking to me.
“I never came looking for any of this, Dylan. I didn’t cast a spell on you or blackmail you into falling for me. And yes, deny it as much as you want, but you fell for me just like I fell for you. However, as much as I love you, I can’t make this work by myself. I don’t want to walk away from you because you’re going to see that as me leaving, but the way I look at it, I’ve lost you either way.” She brings her hand to her eyes, wiping the tears that had started to fall. “I do love you, Dylan, more than I thought I could ever love one person. I never truly understood what my father felt when he lost my mother, but now I do.” She lets out a soft cry as she clenches her stomach. Her next words are said through the sobs. “I love you. I will always love you, but I’ll give you what you want.”
As quickly as she walked into my life, she turned and walked right back out.
There you go, Dylan—she’s gone.
Chapter 24 Dylan
I’m standing in the kitchen of the cabin, a place I thought I’d never have to see again after the sale went through. But when I went to hand the keys over to the lawyer, he asked me to hold onto them because the new owner has some questions and asked if I could walk him through.
I’m looking out the back window when I hear the front screen door open. I turn to greet the new owner, but when I catch sight of who’s in front of me, my rage takes over.
“You don’t know when to damn well quit,” I roar.
Her expression’s dulled, not really holding any response to my outburst. “Not anymore, no.”
“You need to leave.”
There’s a slight twitch to her jaw as she takes in a breath. “Actually, I have an appointment with you.” I look to her in confusion, so she explains further. “Let me clarify, Dylan. I bought the cabin.”
“No, you didn’t. The name on the sale was Andrew Murphy,” I correct.
She nods. “Yes, when you sold it, but then he turned around and sold it to me.”
“Why would he do that?” I question.
“Because I paid double what he bought it for.”
I laugh. “Well, it looks like you’re putting my father’s money to good use.”
